Swift is referenced on ‘The Life Of Pablo’ song ‘Famous’. On the track, West raps: “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / I made that bitch famous.”

The lyric refers to when West infamously interrupted Swift at the 2009 MTV VMA’s while she was collecting the award for Best Female, a title she won ahead of Beyonce. The pair officially reconciled at the MTV VMA Awards last year in 2015, when Swift handed West the lifetime achievement prize.

Taking to Twitter, the rapper claimed that he did not “diss” Swift and that the crux of the lyric was actually her idea.

“I did not diss Taylor Swift and I’ve never dissed her,” West wrote. “I’m an artist and as an artist I will express how I feel with no censorship… I asked my wife for her blessings and she was cool with it.”

He continued: “I called Taylor and had a hour long convo with her about the line and she thought it was funny and gave her blessings… I’m not even gone take credit for the idea… it’s actually something Taylor came up with”.

“She was having dinner with one of our friends who’s name I will keep out of this and she told him… I can’t be mad at Kanye because he made me famous! #FACTS”.

West also wrote: “Bitch is an endearing term in hip hop like the word Nigga”.

See the tweets in full below.

http://storify.com/nmemagazine/kanye-famous-lyric-tweets

A representative for Swift responded to being namechecked on Kanye West’s new album, with a spokessperson confirming that she had declined to release the song in question through her Twitter account.

Approached for comment by New York Times reporter Jon Caramanica, a representative confirmed that Swift did not approve the lyrics in advance and actively warned the rapper against using misogynistic language on his album. She was not made aware of the “bitch” line at all.

West launched his new album with a listening party and fashion show at New York’s Madison Square Garden last night (February 11). The arena event marked the launch of West’s Yeezy Season 3 range with Adidas and the premiere of his new album.